The US government’s commitment towards empowering women and girls could see the introduction of special programmes here to address domestic violence, according to Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy Karen Williams.
In a recent interview with Stabroek News, Williams said the prevalence of domestic violence cases in Guyana has been noted and representatives from the embassy will be engaging Human Services Minister Priya Manickchand on the issue. According to Williams, during the engagement with the Human Services Minister, possible areas where the US can assist the ministry in counteracting the issue will be addressed.
The US has not determined in a definite sense what kind of assistance it can give, Williams told this newspaper. However, she said word coming out of Washington suggests that there may be possible funding for programmes to address domestic violence issues. “How and when we can make that translate into a particular programme for Guyana, it remains to be seen. We are just in the very early stages,” Williams explained. She was not in the position to give an estimated time for the start up of such an initiative but said it could take a while. “For some things…, it’s probably just a slight shift in focus on what we are already doing, so it is immediate. For other things…actually creating a new programme such as for domestic violence…that could take a while,” she said. Nevertheless, she suggested that a programme could be implemented quickly if “just the right” project is found.
The Chargé d’Affaires said that she would love to find the funds to assist since she feels the issue is one which hinders women from contributing fully to the society. “It is something that I sincerely would love, if I could find the money to do something…because I think it is one of the things that until you can get a handle [and] really start working with society on the issue…it would be very tough for women to contribute fully,” Williams said.
Williams told Stabroek News that since her stint in Guyana she has become concerned about the problem. “In my two and a half years here, one of the things that is most ….impacting for me as someone who lives here…is the domestic violence issue,” she said. “From talking to people, I don’t think anyone that I’ve asked or have chatted with about this doesn’t know someone who has been a victim…,” she stated. She added that while some men are abused it is predominantly the women who were affected.
During the interview, Williams opined that the media’s highlighting of cases of domestic violence was a good thing since it brings the matter to the fore. She suggested that one of the keys to solving the problem was to get people talking about it. The problem, Williams noted, has been one occurring in various countries for a long time but was just simply never highlighted.
Meanwhile, explaining the US government’s commitment to empowering women and girls within the region, Williams said it is a policy geared towards “breaking a cycle.” She said that in many nations in the hemisphere, there is a great disparity in favour of men in terms of the opportunities provided when compared to those granted to women.
Williams explained that empowering women and girls had to do primarily with them having access to education, employment and equal opportunities. She stressed too that empowering women and girls is not about disadvantaging any other group. She noted that anytime there are situations where large segments of the society do not have access to educational opportunities this should be examined. Further, she said where there are situations where access is given but the performance is less than expected, the root cause of this phenomenon should be established.
Pointing to the large number of single parent families headed by women, Williams said that the question was how to break the cycle where many of these women are unable to participate fully in the society and achieve their maximum potential.
